Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies on the A1 freeway, connecting the city directly to the national capital Bucharest, being an important railway junction, with a classification yard in nearby Bălilești. The city houses the Arpechim oil refinery, and is a marketing center for the automotive industry, in particular, Automobile Dacia.

Inhabited since prehistoric times but first mentioned in the 14th century, it developed as a trading town in northern Wallachia, serving as an informal residence for various Wallachian princes until the 18th century. From the 19th century and until the interwar period, it was an important political center for the National Liberal Party and the main residence of the Brătianu family of politicians. During the early stages of the communist regime, it was one of the main sites of political repression, with the Pitești Prison becoming home to an experiment in brainwashing techniques.

History

Early history

The earliest traces of human settlements in this area relate to the Paleolithic. Coins minted by the Dacians during the 3rd century BC, copying the design of Thracian tetradrachmon issued by Lysimachus, have been discovered here. A small Roman castrum was built sometime in the 3rd century AD in the vicinity of present-day Pitești (part of a protection system for Roman Dacia and Moesia). During the Age of Migrations, the Pitești area was, according to historian Constantin C. Giurescu, the site of trading between Vlachs and Slavs, which, in his opinion, was the origin of Târgul din Deal ("The Market on the Hill"), a separate locality.

The first recorded mention of Pitești itself was on May 20, 1386, when Wallachian Prince Mircea I granted a gristmill in the area to Cozia Monastery. Pitești was subsequently one of the temporary residences of Wallachian princes. By the late 14th century, it became home to a sizable Armenian community.

At the time, the locality only extended on the left bank of the Argeș, and gradually expanded over the river, reaching the hill slopes to the west Around that time, fighting occurred in and around the town as the new prince Radu Șerban clashed with the Ottomans and their Crimean Khanate allies. During the 1790s, Pitești was visited by Luigi Mayer, a German pupil of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who left etchings of the region (including the very first one of Pitești);

The town was an important location for events relating to the last stage of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and the first stages of the Greek War of Independence: it was here that, in late spring 1821, the Wallachian rebel leader Tudor Vladimirescu settled after retreating from Bucharest. His departure raised suspicion from his Eterist allies that he was planning to abandon the common cause. Vladimirescu was captured in the nearby locality of Băilești and executed soon after, on orders from Alexander Ypsilantis.

Late 19th and early 20th century

thumb|left|Postcard of Saint Nicholas Church, early 20th century

thumb|150px|Coat of arms of Pitești during the interwar period

The city was developed further after the 1859 unification of the Danubian Principalities and the 1881 creation of the Romanian Kingdom. Around that time, and down to the late interwar, the city became a National Liberal center, largely due to the Brătianu family of politicians residing in nearby Ștefănești. Their manor, Florica, housed most major reunions of the National Liberal leaders.

By 1872, a national railway connection with the capital Bucharest and Târgoviște was built, at the same time as one linking Bucharest with Ploiești through Chitila. Overseen by the German financier Bethel Henry Strousberg, this was the second project of its kind in Romania (after the Bucharest-Giurgiu rail link of 1869). By 1906, Pitești was home to a thriving cooperative bank, Banca Populară Pitești, which was also the first-ever financial institution in the Argeș County. In 1907, factory manager Edmond Landauer performed the very first Tayloristic experiments in Romania, at Pitești Weaving Mill.

From late autumn 1916 to 1918, during the World War I battles, Pitești was occupied by the troops of the Central Powers. The city was originally abandoned by the Romanian Army and taken by the German commander August von Mackensen as the front stabilized on the Olt River, before Mackensen was able to occupy Bucharest and the entire southern Romania. During the post-war existence of Greater Romania, Pitești became a regional cultural center, notably hosting the 1928–1929 series of the magazine Kalende (published in cooperation by literary critics Vladimir Streinu, Șerban Cioculescu, Pompiliu Constantinescu, and Tudor Șoimaru).

World War II and communism

thumb|Tower blocks in Pitești, photographed in 1970, shortly after their completion

Pitești was affected in various ways by World War II and its successive regimes. After a fascist National Legionary State was proclaimed by the Iron Guard in late 1940, a bronze bust of former premier Armand Călinescu (whom the Guard had assassinated in September 1939), was chained and dragged through the city streets. In December 1943, under the dictatorship of Conducător Ion Antonescu (a Pitești native), it saw the final chapter in a chain of deportations of Romani people to Transnistria (see Holocaust in Romania). The city was sporadically bombed by the Allies: on July 4, 1944, it was struck by a section of the US Fifteenth Air Force (see Bombing of Romania in World War II).

In the 1950s, while serving as capital of Regiunea Argeș, Pitești gained an ill notoriety, when the communist authorities used the local detention facility to subject political detainees to "reeducation", in which violence between inmates was encouraged to the point of being mandatory (see Pitești prison). The experiment was carried out by the Securitate secret police and overseen by Alexandru Nicolschi; its goal was to psychologically destroy the capacity for outside attachment and outside loyalty, creating the brainwashed New Man prototype of Leninism. The program was canceled after some five years. At a trial held in 1953–1954, twenty-two inmate-participants were sentenced, with sixteen being condemned to death for their role in the experiment. In 1957, a new trial convicted certain members of the prison staff, who received light sentences; they were later pardoned.

In parallel, Pitești underwent numerous changes in landscape, including the completion of the A1 freeway, the first road of its kind, during the 1960s, and the acceleration of industrialization with a focus on the chemical and automotive industries. Around 1950, Pitești area accommodated ELAS refugees from the Greek Civil War (some of the buildings erected for this purpose were later used to house resettled peasants). The Plateau is at its narrowest in the Pitești area, where it only reaches in width, as opposed to the average. The city has access to a piedmont plain, known as Câmpia Piteștilor ("Pitești Plain") and characterized by water-meadows. To the west, it abuts the Trivale Forest, which has been partly set up as a leisure park.

Pitești is adjacent to two reservoirs on the Argeș, in its Prundu area and in nearby Bascov (the Budeasa Dam). It is situated downstream from Lake Vidraru and upstream from the reservoir in Bălilești.

Demographics

As of 2021 census data, 141,275 inhabitants live within the city limits, a decrease from the figure recorded at the 2011 census.

Romania's 2011 census recorded a population of 155,383 for the city. Of the individuals for whom data were available, 99.1% were ethnic Romanians and 0.6% Roma. In terms of religion, 98.4% were Romanian Orthodox; 0.3% Roman Catholic; and 0.2% each Pentecostal, Christian Evangelical, Baptist and Evangelical. A further 0.2% were atheist or non-religious. A 2016 estimate placed the population at 177,485.

The population of Pitești grew between the 1830s and the 1990s, with the most sustained period of growth occurring after the 1950s, when industrial development created jobs and attracted residents from nearby settlements. The population peaked at an estimated 187,000 in 1997, then stagnated until 2001, and has gradually decreased since that time. The drop is particularly noticeable among the male population: this segment not only has a higher mortality and lower life expectancy, but also, due to de-industrialization, emigrated in search of work in significant numbers.

Economy

Pitești is one of the most industrialized cities in Romania. It is the center of the automotive industry in the country: the Automobile Dacia automaker is situated in the nearby town of Mioveni, and several other automobile parts manufacturers are located within its urban area (Dräxlmaier Group, Lear Corporation and Valeo). The city also houses the Arpechim oil refinery, part of the Petrom group. The plant, established as a state-owned company during communism, has traditionally been the center of controversy over its air pollution records. In 2007, the Ministry of the Environment withdrew Arpechim's permit, but Petrom contested the decision in court. The plant is scheduled to gradually reduce its activity over a period of several years, pending eventual closure. The Theater's Studio 125 was established in May 1975 by director Liviu Ciulei.

A public library, named after intellectual figure Dinicu Golescu, was planned in 1869 by Paraschiva Stephu, a female member of the upper class, who drew up a will leaving 200 Austrian ducats for the purpose of creating a library. The institution became operational in 1880, and a large part of the volumes were bequeathed by historian George Ionescu-Gion immediately following his death in 1904. His donation included over a thousand books in Romanian, French and Italian. The library moved into its current headquarters in the city center in 2003. Pitești consequently acquired a reputation as a tulip-growing area, and the flower-themed festival was first organized by the local authorities in 1978.

Sport

The major football club in the city is FC Argeș Pitești, which has generally played in Liga I, and has the Nicolae Dobrin Stadium as its home ground. In addition, the city was home to a Liga II football club, Internațional Pitești (located on Stadionul Ștrand), and has a school which doubles as a junior team, Sporting Pitești. Pitești hosts basketball team BCM U Pitești, as well as a women's volleyball team, Argeș Volei Pitești.

Pitești is home to an Olympic size swimming pool, the home ground for CSM Pitești, and a public outdoor swimming pool in the Tudor Vladimirescu area. Nearby Bascov also has a public swimming place, on grounds adjacent to the Budeasa Dam. The national canoe racing also trains at the Budeasa Dam sports base, and the location is also used for recreational fishing. A tennis challenger tournament (Turneul challenger feminin Pitești) takes place each year, on grounds in Bascov.

<gallery>

File:RO AG - Primăria veche, azi Muzeul de Artă.jpg|Pitești Art Museum

File:Cinema modern pitesti.jpg|Cinema Modern in central Pitești

File:Zara Pitesti 15.jpg|Old building on Victoriei Street

File:Armenian Apostolic church Pitesti 02.jpg|The Armenian Apostolic church

File:Victoriei street 2.jpg|Old buildings on Victoriei Street

File:Dinu Lipatti Art High School Pitesti 07.jpg|The Dinu Lipatti Art High School

File:Synagogue Public Garden Pitesti 05.jpg|The Pitești Synagogue

File:Muzeul Judetean Arges Pitesti 08.jpg|City Museum

File:Sfanta Vineri street Pitesti 01.jpg|View of Sfânta Vineri Street

File:1907 park Pitesti 12.jpg|1907 Park

File:Pit Arbore Egalitatii.jpg|Protected tree on Egalității Street

File:Pit Mon 1877-1978.jpg|Memorial to soldiers fallen in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)

File:Pit Sf Vineri (casa).jpg|Townhouse (Gabroveni Inn) on Sfânta Vineri Street

File:Pit Sediu PSD.jpg|Historical building and Social Democratic Party headquarters

</gallery>

Notable people

  • Ion Antonescu
  • Ilie Bărbulescu
  • Mauriciu Blank
  • Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești
  • Dimitrie Brătianu
  • Ion Brătianu
  • Armand Călinescu
  • Corneliu Calotescu
  • Nicolae Comănescu
  • Nicolae Dică
  • Nicolae Dobrin
  • Ruxandra Dragomir
  • Haralamb H. Georgescu
  • Al. Gherghel
  • Gheorghe Ionescu-Gion
  • Alexandru Kirițescu
  • Cristian Minculescu
  • Adrian Neaga
  • Marian Oprea
  • Gabriela Pană Dindelegan
  • Constance Pascal
  • Sebastian Papaiani
  • Jean Parvulesco
  • Mircea Pârligras
  • Nicolae Penescu
  • Costin Petrescu
  • Rudolf Schweitzer-Cumpăna
  • Ioan Sion
  • Smiley
  • Lavinia Stan
  • Bogdan Stancu
  • Cristian Tănase
  • Tudor Teodorescu-Braniște
  • Teo Trandafir
  • Ion Trivale
  • Lucian Turcescu
  • Robert Turcescu
  • Adrian Ungur
  • Zavaidoc

Twin towns – sister cities

Pitești is twinned with:

  • Beit Jala, Palestine
  • Borlänge, Sweden
  • Bydgoszcz, Poland
  • Caserta, Italy
  • Chongqing, China
  • Gyumri, Armenia
  • Kragujevac, Serbia
  • Muntinlupa, Philippines
  • Nafplio, Greece
  • Ourém, Portugal
  • Springfield, Ohio, United States
  • Tynaarlo, Netherlands

Notes

References

  • Monografia geografică a Republicii Populare Romîne, Vol. I: "Geografia fizică", Editura Academiei RPR, Bucharest, 1960
  • Adrian Cioroianu, Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc, Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2005.
  • Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre, Editura Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966.